Adobe® Flex® 4 Language Reference
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flash.display 
BlendMode 
Packageflash.display
Classpublic final class BlendMode
InheritanceBlendMode Inheritance Object

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

A class that provides constant values for visual blend mode effects. These constants are used in the following:
  • The blendMode property of the flash.display.DisplayObject class.
  • The blendMode parameter of the draw() method of the flash.display.BitmapData class

See also



Public Properties
 PropertyDefined By
 Inheritedconstructor : Object
A reference to the class object or constructor function for a given object instance.
Object
 Inheritedprototype : Object
[static] A reference to the prototype object of a class or function object.
Object
Public Methods
 MethodDefined By
 Inherited
Indicates whether an object has a specified property defined.
Object
 Inherited
Indicates whether an instance of the Object class is in the prototype chain of the object specified as the parameter.
Object
 Inherited
Indicates whether the specified property exists and is enumerable.
Object
 Inherited
Sets the availability of a dynamic property for loop operations.
Object
 Inherited
Returns the string representation of this object, formatted according to locale-specific conventions.
Object
 Inherited
Returns the string representation of the specified object.
Object
 Inherited
Returns the primitive value of the specified object.
Object
Public Constants
 ConstantDefined By
  ADD : String = "add"
[static] Adds the values of the constituent colors of the display object to the colors of its background, applying a ceiling of 0xFF.
BlendMode
  ALPHA : String = "alpha"
[static] Applies the alpha value of each pixel of the display object to the background.
BlendMode
  DARKEN : String = "darken"
[static] Selects the darker of the constituent colors of the display object and the colors of the background (the colors with the smaller values).
BlendMode
  DIFFERENCE : String = "difference"
[static] Compares the constituent colors of the display object with the colors of its background, and subtracts the darker of the values of the two constituent colors from the lighter value.
BlendMode
  ERASE : String = "erase"
[static] Erases the background based on the alpha value of the display object.
BlendMode
  HARDLIGHT : String = "hardlight"
[static] Adjusts the color of each pixel based on the darkness of the display object.
BlendMode
  INVERT : String = "invert"
[static] Inverts the background.
BlendMode
  LAYER : String = "layer"
[static] Forces the creation of a transparency group for the display object.
BlendMode
  LIGHTEN : String = "lighten"
[static] Selects the lighter of the constituent colors of the display object and the colors of the background (the colors with the larger values).
BlendMode
  MULTIPLY : String = "multiply"
[static] Multiplies the values of the display object constituent colors by the constituent colors of the background color, and normalizes by dividing by 0xFF, resulting in darker colors.
BlendMode
  NORMAL : String = "normal"
[static] The display object appears in front of the background.
BlendMode
  OVERLAY : String = "overlay"
[static] Adjusts the color of each pixel based on the darkness of the background.
BlendMode
  SCREEN : String = "screen"
[static] Multiplies the complement (inverse) of the display object color by the complement of the background color, resulting in a bleaching effect.
BlendMode
  SHADER : String = "shader"
[static] Uses a shader to define the blend between objects.
BlendMode
  SUBTRACT : String = "subtract"
[static] Subtracts the values of the constituent colors in the display object from the values of the background color, applying a floor of 0.
BlendMode
Constant Detail

ADD

Constant
public static const ADD:String = "add"

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Adds the values of the constituent colors of the display object to the colors of its background, applying a ceiling of 0xFF. This setting is commonly used for animating a lightening dissolve between two objects.

For example, if the display object has a pixel with an RGB value of 0xAAA633, and the background pixel has an RGB value of 0xDD2200, the resulting RGB value for the displayed pixel is 0xFFC833 (because 0xAA + 0xDD > 0xFF, 0xA6 + 0x22 = 0xC8, and 0x33 + 0x00 = 0x33).

ALPHA

Constant 
public static const ALPHA:String = "alpha"

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Applies the alpha value of each pixel of the display object to the background. This requires the blendMode property of the parent display object be set to flash.display.BlendMode.LAYER.

DARKEN

Constant 
public static const DARKEN:String = "darken"

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Selects the darker of the constituent colors of the display object and the colors of the background (the colors with the smaller values). This setting is commonly used for superimposing type.

For example, if the display object has a pixel with an RGB value of 0xFFCC33, and the background pixel has an RGB value of 0xDDF800, the resulting RGB value for the displayed pixel is 0xDDCC00 (because 0xFF > 0xDD, 0xCC < 0xF8, and 0x33 > 0x00 = 33).

DIFFERENCE

Constant 
public static const DIFFERENCE:String = "difference"

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Compares the constituent colors of the display object with the colors of its background, and subtracts the darker of the values of the two constituent colors from the lighter value. This setting is commonly used for more vibrant colors.

For example, if the display object has a pixel with an RGB value of 0xFFCC33, and the background pixel has an RGB value of 0xDDF800, the resulting RGB value for the displayed pixel is 0x222C33 (because 0xFF - 0xDD = 0x22, 0xF8 - 0xCC = 0x2C, and 0x33 - 0x00 = 0x33).

ERASE

Constant 
public static const ERASE:String = "erase"

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Erases the background based on the alpha value of the display object. This process requires that the blendMode property of the parent display object be set to flash.display.BlendMode.LAYER.

HARDLIGHT

Constant 
public static const HARDLIGHT:String = "hardlight"

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Adjusts the color of each pixel based on the darkness of the display object. If the display object is lighter than 50% gray, the display object and background colors are screened, which results in a lighter color. If the display object is darker than 50% gray, the colors are multiplied, which results in a darker color. This setting is commonly used for shading effects.

INVERT

Constant 
public static const INVERT:String = "invert"

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Inverts the background.

LAYER

Constant 
public static const LAYER:String = "layer"

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Forces the creation of a transparency group for the display object. This means that the display object is precomposed in a temporary buffer before it is processed further. The precomposition is done automatically if the display object is precached by means of bitmap caching or if the display object is a display object container that has at least one child object with a blendMode setting other than "normal".

LIGHTEN

Constant 
public static const LIGHTEN:String = "lighten"

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Selects the lighter of the constituent colors of the display object and the colors of the background (the colors with the larger values). This setting is commonly used for superimposing type.

For example, if the display object has a pixel with an RGB value of 0xFFCC33, and the background pixel has an RGB value of 0xDDF800, the resulting RGB value for the displayed pixel is 0xFFF833 (because 0xFF > 0xDD, 0xCC < 0xF8, and 0x33 > 0x00 = 33).

MULTIPLY

Constant 
public static const MULTIPLY:String = "multiply"

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Multiplies the values of the display object constituent colors by the constituent colors of the background color, and normalizes by dividing by 0xFF, resulting in darker colors. This setting is commonly used for shadows and depth effects.

For example, if a constituent color (such as red) of one pixel in the display object and the corresponding color of the pixel in the background both have the value 0x88, the multiplied result is 0x4840. Dividing by 0xFF yields a value of 0x48 for that constituent color, which is a darker shade than the color of the display object or the color of the background.

NORMAL

Constant 
public static const NORMAL:String = "normal"

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

The display object appears in front of the background. Pixel values of the display object override the pixel values of the background. Where the display object is transparent, the background is visible.

OVERLAY

Constant 
public static const OVERLAY:String = "overlay"

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Adjusts the color of each pixel based on the darkness of the background. If the background is lighter than 50% gray, the display object and background colors are screened, which results in a lighter color. If the background is darker than 50% gray, the colors are multiplied, which results in a darker color. This setting is commonly used for shading effects.

SCREEN

Constant 
public static const SCREEN:String = "screen"

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Multiplies the complement (inverse) of the display object color by the complement of the background color, resulting in a bleaching effect. This setting is commonly used for highlights or to remove black areas of the display object.

SHADER

Constant 
public static const SHADER:String = "shader"

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

Uses a shader to define the blend between objects.

Setting the blendShader property to a Shader instance automatically sets the display object's blendMode property to BlendMode.SHADER. If the blendMode property is set to BlendMode.SHADER without first setting the blendShader property, the blendMode property is set to BlendMode.NORMAL instead. If the blendShader property is set (which sets the blendMode property to BlendMode.SHADER), then later the value of the blendMode property is changed, the blend mode can be reset to use the blend shader simply by setting the blendMode property to BlendMode.SHADER. The blendShader property does not need to be set again except to change the shader that's used to define the blend mode.

See also

SUBTRACT

Constant 
public static const SUBTRACT:String = "subtract"

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Subtracts the values of the constituent colors in the display object from the values of the background color, applying a floor of 0. This setting is commonly used for animating a darkening dissolve between two objects.

For example, if the display object has a pixel with an RGB value of 0xAA2233, and the background pixel has an RGB value of 0xDDA600, the resulting RGB value for the displayed pixel is 0x338400 (because 0xDD - 0xAA = 0x33, 0xA6 - 0x22 = 0x84, and 0x00 - 0x33 < 0x00).